Mark Beyer

A new investment advisory firm with impeccable connections won’t even try to play the stock market. Mark Beyer reports.

The State Government’s budget surplus in the current financial year could be as high as last year’s unexpectedly large $793 million surplus, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA.

United Credit Union last week completed the annual profit reports for Western Australia’s major non-bank financiers, posting a result that lagged its industry peers.

The State Government has started its tax reform package by cutting the rate of payroll tax to 5.5%. We talk to industry about why more needs to be done.

A Who’s who of Perth’s finance luminaries are backing a new company that aims to shake up the way investors think about venture capital.

Listed company mBox.com has announced plans for the simultaneous acquisition of UK-based messaging company Virtualplus Inc and Kwinana industrial company Novacoat.

Popular wisdom holds that Perth has become a ‘branch office’ economy, but the reality isn’t that simple. Mark Beyer reports.

The Federal Government’s controversial Financial Services Reform regime has created extra costs and extra paperwork for the industry. Mark Beyer reports.

HBH Consultants has been awarded its largest international contract in South Africa, adding to the amount of work Perth-based engineering consultants are winning in the African mining industry.

State Government grants have helped to kick-start private investment in Western Australia’s timber industry, with $23 million being spent on two new projects at Collie and Greenbushes.

Small business will be exempt from unfair dismissal laws and redundancy payments and find it easier to use individual workplace agreements if the re-elected Howard Government proceeds with its industrial relations reforms.

Five weeks after administrators took control of Sons of Gwalia, many people are still mystified by the sudden collapse of one of Australia’s best known mining companies. Mark Beyer reports.

Oceana Gold is planning to re-enter the gold hedge market to help manage the risks associated with developing three new gold mines in New Zealand.

On the eve of the Federal election, Mark Beyer spoke to senior Labor MP Stephen Smith and Liberal Senator Ian Campbell about their policies for business in Western Australia.

Perth-based heavy equipment supplier Emeco International has finalised a $170 million banking package as speculation mounts that its majority US shareholder is looking to sell its stake.

StateWest Credit Society, the State’s third largest non-bank lender, has reported a 49 per cent increase in underlying profit for the year to June 2004

Western Australia is expected to have at least three MPs in the ministry, whichever side of politics wins the Federal elect

Pharmaceutical company Chemeq has joined gold producer Siberia Mining and technology company ERG as prominent Western Australian companies to suffer a major shortfall on their capital raising plans.

Austin Engineering and ai Limited are the sort of small industrial companies that slip under the radar of many investors but recent news from both companies could warrant closer attention.

Western Power has expressed confidence that a package of measures adopted in recent months have put it in a substantially better position to meet demand this summer compared to last summer when it was forced to introduce power restrictions.

The State Government’s three big business enterprises – Water Corporation, Western Power and LandCorp – played a significant part in last year’s bumper budget surplus, with higher profits leading to increased dividends and “tax equivalent” payments.

After two years of suffering from weak investment markets and heavy insurance claims, motoring and insurance group RAC bounced back last financial year

Western Australia’s largest non-bank financier, Police & Nurses Credit Society, has attributed a rare drop in profit to planned investment in its expansion.

The backers of the James Point port at Kwinana have vowed to press ahead with their plans despite long running planning delays and legal disputes with the State Government.

Even though Labor has not released its industrial relations policy, rumours are rife among employers that Australian Workplace Agreements will be abolished. Mark Beyer and Julie-anne Sprague investigate.

Coogee Chemicals chairman Gordon Martin has the rare distinction of building a large Australian manufacturing business that is internationally competitive. Mark Beyer reports.

Iron ore producer Mount Gibson Iron has scrapped plans for a pellet plant near Geraldton after concluding it would cost more than three times as much to build the plant in Australia compared to China.

Heavy equipment supplier Emeco International, one of Western Australia’s largest unlisted companies, is assessing capital-raising options to support planned expansion.

Increased shipping activity associated with Rio Tinto’s HIsmelt pig iron plant and BGC’s new cement plant has brought industry concern about port infrastructure at Kwinana to a head.

One of Western Australia’s top public servants has raised the possibility that private funding, including direct charging of motorists, will be needed to help pay for the State’s road network.